One of the important qualities that religious dialogue often lacks is respect. We need to be deliberate in considering the strengths of the positions with which we disagree. I have noticed that looking for the good points of different worldviews is often correlated with the ability to respect the people who believe differently than myself. After all, it is hard to respect someone who seems, to you, to believe utter nonsense. I want to look at some of the virtues of atheists and some of the strengths of atheism.
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Sam Harris and Determinism
On his blog earlier this week, Sam Harris argues for “Morality Without ‘Free Will.’” Sam Harris has become an influential public intellectual through his three New York Times bestsellers, his articles in many leading journals and magazines, and in his capacity as the CEO of Project Reason.
In this response, I will summarize his position and then point out a few problems with his position. My goal is not to attack Sam Harris personally; I have respect for Sam Harris as a thinker, writer and speaker, which is why I am responding to him. Instead, my goal is to offer a rational response to his ideas and arguments.
Atheism and the Denial of Reason
I want to clarify the problems with determinism under atheism. (Please notice how I define atheism).
Thankfully, Sam Harris has already identified one of the problems for us:
Atheism and Moral Accountability
Many atheists, dedicated to doing what is good, are offended by arguments that the atheistic worldview has problems with morality. It is frustrating for an atheist who genuinely loves doing kind actions to be told that, philosophically speaking, their lifestyle doesn’t fit with their worldview. After all, for that person, it does fit together. On the one hand, they don’t believe in an invisible fairy god who magically grants wishes, on the other hand, they love science, reason and the people in their lives. (Please notice how I define atheism).
Atheism and the Denial of Freedom
Many (but not all) atheists argue for and accept that “free will” in an illusion. Why? Because this conclusion follows logically from the basic principles of atheism. I want to clarify why all atheists should deny the existence of free will or, by contrast, why all who believe that they have free will should reject atheism.
In other words, I will argue that if atheism is true, then humans do not have free will. But by contrast, if humans do have free will, then atheism is false. (Please notice how I define atheism).
Atheism, Evil and Despair
Have you ever felt wretched, just sick to your stomach, over how you’ve hurt someone else? I want to talk about how atheism deals with these experiences. (Please notice how I define atheism).
At a time in my life when I should have known better, I put myself in this position.
The Importance of An Open Mind
One of the most important virtues, in a genuine search for truth, is open-mindedness. The Free Dictionary defines open-mindedness as, “Receptive to new and different ideas or the opinions of others.” Apart from this value, we will only listen to and learn from those who confirm our existing beliefs.
Prove it to me!
One of the most common phrases I hear as I talk to students at Harvard University is “Prove it to me!” Have you ever said this or heard this? Perhaps you personally want 100% certainty before you will believe in God.
Whether this is your own expectation, or that of your friends, there’s an important question to ask: what do you mean by that? That is, what do you mean by “Prove it to me!”? Is the idea mathematical proof? Or scientific proof? Or some other kind of proof?